growing up
by atimeortwo82690
Summary: why are conner and murph the way they are? i dno either, but i got a good idea about it!
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1!

Conner and Murphy McManus were excited about their fourth birthday. Ma said that Da would be there- if he didn't have to work. Murphy always wondered what Da was always up to. He would leave early in the morning, and wouldn't come home until late. He and ma were always fighting about his job. Ma said it wasn't right, but Da insisted. Whenever he and Conner asked about it, Da would just shake it off. Murphy wanted to be just like Da when he grew up- he wanted to be as devoted to God as Da was.

The time rolled by as Conner and Murphy waited for Da to come home. Rocco had already gone home, and it was passed midnight. Murphy stared at the leftover cake sitting on the kitchen counter. Why did Da always do this to him? Why was he always gone?

Murph sat wondering, when the phone rang. He leaped out of his chair and answered it before Ma could get to it.

"Hello?" he said as he picked up the phone. It was Da!

"Hey, Murph my boy! How's my big four year ol'?" he was always so cheerful.

"I'm good Da. Where are you?" Murph asked. He wanted to know everything.

"Uh, nowhere son. Can you get your mother for me?" Murphy's heart sank. He really wanted to know where his father was. But he called for his mother, obeying his father's wishes. He quietly left the room and went to his own. Conner was sitting on his bed staring at the ceiling.

"Hey Murph?" Conner asked.

"Yeah Conner." Murph answered. He and Conner often had the same thoughts, same feelings… same everything a lot of the time. Whenever Conner was hurt, Murph knew. And vise versa. He figured that was what being a twin was all about.

"Why is Ma and Da always in a fight? I mean, you can hear her yelling at him now." Murph listened to his mother through the wall. She was crying too.

_"How did you get yourself thrown in jail?" _ Murph heard his mother say to the phone.

"Conner, I think Da's in jail!" Murph exclaimed.

"What?" Conner sat up from his bed and pressed his ear against the cold white paint of the wall. He could hear his mother crying. The twins got to spend their fourth birthday waiting to hear that their dad had a life sentence in jail.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Conner sat at the edge of his bed. Murph was still asleep. Conner hadn't been sleeping very easily lately. Maybe it was because he was going to be fifteen in a few days, or maybe it was because of the memories that haunted him. They were vague, but they were there.

Conner pushed the thoughts from his mind and lifted himself from the bed and looked at watch. One o'clock. They had to meet David Rocco at two. Conner rubbed his eyes and walked over to Murph.

"Wake up, Murph. We gotta meet Rocco." Murph turned on his pillow, and glanced at Conner.

"Is Ma gone?" he asked.

"Yeah, man." Conner said as he put on his shirt. Rocco's parents were never home, so this was an awesome opportunity for Murph and him. They rarely ever got chances like this with no parents. Not to mention that Rocco had loads of fireworks and bottle rockets and such.

Murph rose and got dressed, same as Conner- baggy blue jeans and a black t-shirt. He didn't know why, but lately all he and Conner had been wearing was either black or dark colors. Conner finished, and walked out of the room. Murph followed after him.

"Rocco!" Conner yelled outside of Rocco's house. No answer. Conner rang the doorbell. Still no answer.

"Rocco! Get out here, you idiot!" he yelled.

"Stop fucking yelling like that, I'm right here!" Rocco called from behind Conner and Murph.

"Don't fucking swear, man!" Conner yelled back. Rocco laughed and walked over to them. Karen and Jamie followed behind him. Murph and Conner looked at each other. Most girls went for them, not Rocco, but Karen and Jamie were the two most annoying, self-centered girls on the planet.

"Hey Conner! Murph!" Karen squealed.

"Hey Karen." Conner answered, Even though he and Murph didn't like them, that was no reason to be rude.

"Yeah, hi Karen. Jamie." Murph said. They sat in an awkward silence for a while before Rocco finally spoke.

"well, let's go, they're in the back." They walked to the woods in back of Rocco's house. There was a cooler and a bag next to it.

"I couldn't get any beer, so I hope coke's ok." Rocco said. Conner looked over at Murph. Murph just shrugged.

"Hey, Rocco?" Karen said in her high-pitched squeaky voice that always sent chills up Murph's spine.

"What, Karen?" Rocco said, obviously annoyed.

"What exactly are we going to do?" Rocco, walked over to the bag and took out a few of the explosives.

"This is what we're going to do." Rocco rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath.

"and Conner?" Karen directed to him.

"yeah?"

"What are you and Murph doing in the United states? I mean, you still have your irish accents and everything."

Conner thought on that. He and Murph had been born in Ireland, and moved to the United States when they were just infants.

"My family is all Irish. The accent rubs onto us, I guess." Conner thought for a moment. He always thought that both Karen and Jamie were annoying, but now that he thinks about it, Jamie isn't talking at all.

Rocco stopped and yelled, "Here we are!" Murph looked around. All he saw was trees and woodland.

"Rocco, you idiot! We can't light off this here! It'll light on fire, and we'll be responsible!"

"We don't have to light it here." Karen said in the shadows. Conner glanced over to her. Rocco sat up.

"What are you talking about?" It wasn't before long that they were standing outside of Gertrude Taylor's house, the school nerd.

Karen grabbed one of the TNT explosives, and lit it. Conner and Murph sat up.

"What the hell are you doing?" Conner yelled. Karen ran across the street, with the dynamite. Before anyone could stop her, the house blew in flames… along with Karen.

"Murph, let's go!" Conner yelled. Murph couldn't move. What did they just do? They took the life of an innocent person. Murph felt Conner's hand grasp his arm, and pull him.

"Jamie, it wasn't your fault." Conner tried to comfort her. she was crying histerically.

"It wasn't any of our faults. We tried to stop her." Rocco looked up.

"What do we do then? We can't go to the police."

"We have to. It's the right thing to do."

"Conner's right, man. We can't let someone else get the blame for this." Rocco wouldn't budge.

"If you guys go to the police, I'll Papa Joe to deal with you. Man, I love ya, but I'm not giving my life away for something that skanky bitch did."

"Rocco!" Murph yelled. "First off, don't say that about her. she's dead now, so out of respect for the dead, just don't. and bringing the people you JUST STARTED WORKING FOR into this, is a real pussy way out."

"well I'll do it, if you guys go to the cops." Conner massaged his forehead held his head in his hands. He should have figured Rocco wouldn't agree. Conner mumbled the prayer his father taught him to himself. _And shepherds we shall be…_ He got up and walked over to Rocco.

"Alright, Rocco. You win. But when you see other people on the news, getting put in jail for a crime we did, then we'll talk." Conner grabbed Murph and they walked out of the room. Rocco stared after them, dumb founded.

Conner and Murph walked home in silence. They walked in the front door of their house and turned on the lights. Conner walked into their bedroom and sat on his bed and took off his shoes. He sat and held his head in his hands, and for the first time since his fourth birthday, he wept.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Conner, can you believe we'll be eighteen tomorrow? We'll finally be on our own." Murph stuffed the rest of his clothes into his suite case. Murph had been really excited, because he and Conner were moving to their own apartment. Seeing as both of them didn't have very good GPA's, they decided to drop out of school and make it on their own. Murph found a job at a Mc. Donald's, where the pay was seven dollars an hour. Conner was going to work at this meat packing plant, for ten dollars an hour. Murph had thought about it, and maybe someday he would work there, but for now he was going to take it slow.

"Yeah man. What about Rocco, what have you heard from him?" Rocco had recently gotten a job too and was moving out. He didn't say much about it, but he did mention being some sort of package boy.

"Not a whole lot, just that he'll be by us."

"Cool." He and Conner hadn't really been as close since around their fifteenth birthday, even though the past three years has been of peace. Well, sort of. Murph was still haunted by the memories of that night. He wished that he could have stopped her. Thank God Gertrude and her family were out that night, because the crazy kid went psycho, but still. She took her own life and destroyed their house.

Conner woke early the next morning. "Let freedom ring," he said under his breath. He quickly got dressed and walked out into the hallway and into the kitchen. Ma was at the kitchen counter making breakfast.

Conner breathed in the delightful scents; pork sausages, nice juicy bacon rashers, and probably some white or black pudding. Conner poured himself a glass of orange juice.

"How do you want your egg?" Ma asked. Conner stared at her. how could she not know? The woman had been cooking for him for eighteen years now.

"Fried." He answered grimly. He made a face at her. even from turned around she could see him.

"don't be makin' faces at me boy! Or I'll-"

"But ma, I-"

"Hold your tongue, or I'll friggin butcher knife it out!"

"Yes ma'am," he grumbled. He started his breakfast as Murph walked in. He was only in his boxers and had obviously just woken up, because he still reeked of armpits and morning breath.

"Ma, we have to leave in ten minutes." He mumbled. "what?" she replied.

"I said-" he yawned. "We have to leave in twenty minutes." "Murph speak up I can't hear a word your saying." He droned off on his last sentence.

"MURPHY MCMANNUS SPEAK UP NOW!"

"WE HAVE TO LEAVE IN A HALF HOUR!"

"OK, THEN JUST SAY IT!"

"JEEZ, WOMAN!" he grabbed Conner's plate and orange juice and went to his room and slammed the door shut. Conner and his mother sat in silence.

"Not a morning person, I guess." Conner got up and grabbed another plate from the cupboard.

"Well, here we are you stupid boys. Home sweet home." Ma said as she hauled two of their suit cases in the apartment.

"This is more of a shit hole then Ma's house," Murph whispered to Conner, looking up into his face.

"Murphy!" Ma exclaimed. Murph's eyes instantly dropped to the floor.

"Sorry, Ma." she passed him and slpped her hand across his head.

"ow."

After about two hours of stalled labor, the boys apartment was set up. Two shower heads on the wall, a small second hand couch, a little mini-refrigerator, a small round coffee table, and two beds.

"Well well," Murph said as he looked around after Ma had left. "looks like we got our own little shit hole to ourselves!"


End file.
